By: Diane HwangOf the 45 Presidents who have resided in the White House, some have made their mark in history—some in positive ways, some in negative ways. By using qualitative and quantitative date, including the national debt accumulated, the rate of unemployment that increased or decreased, the nation’s GDP (gross domestic product), and his average approval rating throughout the presidency, I have concluded who have been America’s best and worst presidents to serve our country. THE BEST |
Approval Rate: 82% | National Debt: Start of Presidency 1933: $43 Billion, End of Presidency 1945: $258.5 Although the numbers are significantly high, Franklin Delano Roosevelt revived the economic status after the Great Depression. Additionally, the costs of involvement within World War II contributes greatly to the US National Debt. |
GDP Rate: GDP grew at an annual rate of 9% during FDR’s first term. The GDP grew about 11% annually after 1937-1938. | Unemployment Rate: Start of Presidency 1933: 25%, End of Presidency 1945: 1.2% |
THE BEST
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt, America’s 26th and youngest President served two powerful terms from 1901 to 1909. He fulfilled the role of President humbly as he set out to take whatever action necessary for the public good, unless forbidden by law of the Constitution. He said, “I did not usurp power, but I did greatly broaden the use of executive power.” He was viewed as the “steward of the people” and successfully brought a fresh face and ideas to the office and led Congress and American public towards a plethora of progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy.
Before taking office, Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of the Rough Rider Regiment, which he led on a charge at the battle of San Juan. His physical efforts for fighting for our country correlates with the vigor and fiery propositions and decisions he made during his presidency. After his brave service in the armed forces, Boss Tom Platt accepted Roosevelt as the Republican candidate for Governor of New York in 1898. As an American war hero and intelligent and well a respected member of society, he gained the trust and hearts of America.
As President, Roosevelt provided a new perspective to many of the controversial aspects throughout his time in office. He proposed the ideal that the government should be the great arbiter of the conflicting economic forces in the nation, especially between capital and labor. With this, Roosevelt emerged as a “trust buster” by forcing the removing of a railroad combination in the northwest. He started a progressive movement in which other anti-trust suits under the Sherman Act followed Roosevelt’s actions.
To enforce strong foreign policy Roosevelt addressed the need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific. With this, he set out to construct the Panama Canal. Additionally, his corollary to the Monroe Doctrine prevented the establishment of foreign bases in the Caribbean and justify the right of intervention in Latin America to the United States. From his experiences with foreign and world politics, he coined the well-known phrase, “Speak softly and carry a big stick…”
Before taking office, Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of the Rough Rider Regiment, which he led on a charge at the battle of San Juan. His physical efforts for fighting for our country correlates with the vigor and fiery propositions and decisions he made during his presidency. After his brave service in the armed forces, Boss Tom Platt accepted Roosevelt as the Republican candidate for Governor of New York in 1898. As an American war hero and intelligent and well a respected member of society, he gained the trust and hearts of America.
As President, Roosevelt provided a new perspective to many of the controversial aspects throughout his time in office. He proposed the ideal that the government should be the great arbiter of the conflicting economic forces in the nation, especially between capital and labor. With this, Roosevelt emerged as a “trust buster” by forcing the removing of a railroad combination in the northwest. He started a progressive movement in which other anti-trust suits under the Sherman Act followed Roosevelt’s actions.
To enforce strong foreign policy Roosevelt addressed the need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific. With this, he set out to construct the Panama Canal. Additionally, his corollary to the Monroe Doctrine prevented the establishment of foreign bases in the Caribbean and justify the right of intervention in Latin America to the United States. From his experiences with foreign and world politics, he coined the well-known phrase, “Speak softly and carry a big stick…”
THE BEST
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan pledged to restore “the great, confident roar of American progress and growth and optimism” during his term and definitely carried out that promise as the 40th President of the United States of America. However, before Reagan’s term he was the president of the Screen Actors Guild. Fulfilling this position emerged Reagan in disputes over the issue of Communism in the film industry—this is where his political views shifted from liberal to conservative. In addition to this political involvement, Reagan was also elected Governor of California in 1966 and reelected in 1970. As a president with a sufficient amount of past political experience, he was well equipped to restore prosperity in the states and in his words, “achieving peace through strength” across seas.
Promptly at the start of Reagan’s presidency, he obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen national defense. Additionally, he pursued a course in hopes of reducing taxes and government expenditures. To continue with his mission to restore prosperity, Reagan remains in office for another term and obtained an overhaul of the income tax code. This eliminated many deduction and exempted millions of people with low incomes. With these changes and a great response from the country, Reagan and his administration had established the longest period of peacetime prosperity without recession or depression.
Reagan also thrived in areas of foreign policy, especially during his 2nd term. He vowed to carry out any plans or ideas peace and controlled, appropriate strength. During his two terms, he increased defense spending by 35%, but sought to improve relations with the Soviet Union. In dramatic meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he negotiated treaty that would eliminated intermediate range nuclear missiles. Additionally, Reagan declared war against international terrorism. He did so by sending American bombers against Libya after evidence came out that Libra was involved in an attack on American soldiers in a West Berlin nightclub. To address this outrage, Reagan ordered naval escorts in the Persian Gulf. He maintained the free flow of oil during the Iran-Iraq war and apprehending with the Reagan Doctrine, he supported anti-Communist insurgencies in Central America, Asia, and Africa
Promptly at the start of Reagan’s presidency, he obtained legislation to stimulate economic growth, curb inflation, increase employment, and strengthen national defense. Additionally, he pursued a course in hopes of reducing taxes and government expenditures. To continue with his mission to restore prosperity, Reagan remains in office for another term and obtained an overhaul of the income tax code. This eliminated many deduction and exempted millions of people with low incomes. With these changes and a great response from the country, Reagan and his administration had established the longest period of peacetime prosperity without recession or depression.
Reagan also thrived in areas of foreign policy, especially during his 2nd term. He vowed to carry out any plans or ideas peace and controlled, appropriate strength. During his two terms, he increased defense spending by 35%, but sought to improve relations with the Soviet Union. In dramatic meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he negotiated treaty that would eliminated intermediate range nuclear missiles. Additionally, Reagan declared war against international terrorism. He did so by sending American bombers against Libya after evidence came out that Libra was involved in an attack on American soldiers in a West Berlin nightclub. To address this outrage, Reagan ordered naval escorts in the Persian Gulf. He maintained the free flow of oil during the Iran-Iraq war and apprehending with the Reagan Doctrine, he supported anti-Communist insurgencies in Central America, Asia, and Africa
THE WORST
George W. Bush
George W. Bush was said to have faced the “greatest challenge of any President since Abraham Lincoln” during his 2 terms as the 43rd President of the United States. Bush is one of two individuals who followed the footsteps of their fathers and took over the White House. The first pair was the Adams, John Quincy Adams and his son John Adams, and evidently George W. Bush is succeeding his father George Bush. Although Bush was bombarded by inconceivable obstacles, his reaction and solution to each event lacked cohesion and negated on the citizens of America.
After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, Bush’s foremost responsibility was to punish and convict the mastermind behind the attacks, Osama Bin Laden, and bring him to justice. Despite his rather direct approach of hunting down Bin Laden, Bush dodged the bullet and waged two costly and ineffective wars. The first war was against Afghanistan and the second was against Iraq. Not only did these wars increase the national debt but the lack of direction and control over the mission was unappealing to the US population.
\When Bush first took office, unemployment had fallen and the medium family income had increased by more $6000 thanks to the efforts of Clinton. However, as Bush navigated his way through the economic status quo the economic stagnation became very apparent early in his first term. Throughout his entire term, Bush only managed to oversee the creation of fewer than 1.1 million jobs, which is the lowest of any president since Harry Truman. Additionally, the top 10% of American earners pulled in almost half of total wages, the most lopsided wealth distribution since 1917.
Civil rights are always an issue in the United States, whether it may be equal rights for blacks and whites, men and women, or gay and straight. In this era, the campaign for LGBT equality was one the major civil rights movements that have individuals’ opinions split and shot. During Bush’s presidency, not only did he fail to advocate on behalf of the LGBT community, but also exploited anti-gay bigoty during his campaign in 2004. He neglected to grant equal rights to every human in his country.
After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, Bush’s foremost responsibility was to punish and convict the mastermind behind the attacks, Osama Bin Laden, and bring him to justice. Despite his rather direct approach of hunting down Bin Laden, Bush dodged the bullet and waged two costly and ineffective wars. The first war was against Afghanistan and the second was against Iraq. Not only did these wars increase the national debt but the lack of direction and control over the mission was unappealing to the US population.
\When Bush first took office, unemployment had fallen and the medium family income had increased by more $6000 thanks to the efforts of Clinton. However, as Bush navigated his way through the economic status quo the economic stagnation became very apparent early in his first term. Throughout his entire term, Bush only managed to oversee the creation of fewer than 1.1 million jobs, which is the lowest of any president since Harry Truman. Additionally, the top 10% of American earners pulled in almost half of total wages, the most lopsided wealth distribution since 1917.
Civil rights are always an issue in the United States, whether it may be equal rights for blacks and whites, men and women, or gay and straight. In this era, the campaign for LGBT equality was one the major civil rights movements that have individuals’ opinions split and shot. During Bush’s presidency, not only did he fail to advocate on behalf of the LGBT community, but also exploited anti-gay bigoty during his campaign in 2004. He neglected to grant equal rights to every human in his country.
THE WORST
Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon was the only President in American history to resign from office, after serving three years as the 37th President and facing the Watergate scandal. Before his presidency, Nixon was a Navy lieutenant commander during World War II, won a Senate seat in the California district in 1950, and served as Governor of California in 1962. Not only is Nixon infamous for the Watergate scandal, but he is remembered for his efforts during the Vietnam War.
As Nixon campaigned for his presidency, he claimed to have a “secret plan” to end the dreaded war in Vietnam. Whether he had such a plan at the time is still a mystery, but he did institute a plan after he assumed the presidency. Calling it “Vietnamization,” he commenced a gradual withdrawal of American forces in the country. So, in 1969, 550,000 American troops were beginning to get pulled out and this continued until 1973. However, for the four years that Nixon continued to prosecute the war, he was violent and aggressive, anything but peaceful. He escalated war by bombing Hanoi, the North Vietnamese capital, mining the Haiphong harbor, invading neighboring Cambodia and Laos, and sought to destroy the North’s will to fight by increasing search and destroy mission and increasing body counts.
During his last year before resignation, in 1972, several burglars were arrested inside the office of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate building in Washington D.C. This robbery was directly linked to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign, and they had been caught while attempting to wiretap phones and steal secret documents. Although no evidence led to the assumption that Nixon knew of or planned the burglary, he took steps to try and cover it up afterwards including raising “hush money” for the burglars, trying to stop the FBI from investigating the crime, destroying evidence and firing uncooperative staff members. As tensions rose and questions filled the air, his role in the Watergate conspiracy eventually led to his resignation.
As Nixon campaigned for his presidency, he claimed to have a “secret plan” to end the dreaded war in Vietnam. Whether he had such a plan at the time is still a mystery, but he did institute a plan after he assumed the presidency. Calling it “Vietnamization,” he commenced a gradual withdrawal of American forces in the country. So, in 1969, 550,000 American troops were beginning to get pulled out and this continued until 1973. However, for the four years that Nixon continued to prosecute the war, he was violent and aggressive, anything but peaceful. He escalated war by bombing Hanoi, the North Vietnamese capital, mining the Haiphong harbor, invading neighboring Cambodia and Laos, and sought to destroy the North’s will to fight by increasing search and destroy mission and increasing body counts.
During his last year before resignation, in 1972, several burglars were arrested inside the office of the Democratic National Committee, located in the Watergate building in Washington D.C. This robbery was directly linked to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign, and they had been caught while attempting to wiretap phones and steal secret documents. Although no evidence led to the assumption that Nixon knew of or planned the burglary, he took steps to try and cover it up afterwards including raising “hush money” for the burglars, trying to stop the FBI from investigating the crime, destroying evidence and firing uncooperative staff members. As tensions rose and questions filled the air, his role in the Watergate conspiracy eventually led to his resignation.
THE WORST
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson’s journey to politics was honorable and humbling, however he faced the Radical Republicans in Congress and struggled as the 17th President of the United States. Johnson grew up in poverty and apprenticed to a tailor as a boy and grew up to open up his own tailor shop in Greeneville, Tennessee. His views and decisions during the Civil War neglected parts of mankind and inflicted unnecessary damage to the country’s land and took the lives of countless Union soldiers.
Although Johnson wasn’t an abolitionist, he was a supporter of the Union and the only southerner to retain his seat in the Senate after secession. He served as Lincoln’s Vice President, but after Lincoln’s assassination he was sworn in to take control of the presidency just one month after being sworn in as vice president.
As president, Johnson took it into his own hands to tend the Civil War happening in his very own backyard. His subsequent battles with Radical Republicans in Congress over a host of Reconstruction measure revealed political ineptitude and an astonishing indifference toward the plight of the newly free African-Americans. In addition to vetoing renewal of the Freedman’s Bureau and the first civil rights bill, he encourages opposition to the 14th Amendment.
An increasingly debilitating power struggle—in which Congress wrongly attempted to strip him of certain constitutionally delegated powers—resulted in the first presidential impeachment and near conviction. Failing to be renominated, he returned to Tennessee and was again elected to the U.S. Senate. Although history’s current verdict may prove to be harsh, but it is fair to say that John did neglect those southerners who tried to undo what the Civil War accomplished and revoked equality in every man, every United States citizen.
Although Johnson wasn’t an abolitionist, he was a supporter of the Union and the only southerner to retain his seat in the Senate after secession. He served as Lincoln’s Vice President, but after Lincoln’s assassination he was sworn in to take control of the presidency just one month after being sworn in as vice president.
As president, Johnson took it into his own hands to tend the Civil War happening in his very own backyard. His subsequent battles with Radical Republicans in Congress over a host of Reconstruction measure revealed political ineptitude and an astonishing indifference toward the plight of the newly free African-Americans. In addition to vetoing renewal of the Freedman’s Bureau and the first civil rights bill, he encourages opposition to the 14th Amendment.
An increasingly debilitating power struggle—in which Congress wrongly attempted to strip him of certain constitutionally delegated powers—resulted in the first presidential impeachment and near conviction. Failing to be renominated, he returned to Tennessee and was again elected to the U.S. Senate. Although history’s current verdict may prove to be harsh, but it is fair to say that John did neglect those southerners who tried to undo what the Civil War accomplished and revoked equality in every man, every United States citizen.
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By Skylar Harrison
The 3 Best Presidents
The 3 Best Presidents
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is remembered for his vital role as the leader in preserving the Union during the Civil War and beginning the process (Emancipation Proclamation) that led to the end of slavery in the United States. He is also remembered for his character and leadership, his speeches and letters, and as a man of humble origins whose determination and perseverance led him to the nation's highest office.
Public debt increased 15 times over between 1961 and 1965. But under Lincoln, the Union was careful to maintain sound fiscal footing. For the first time in the country’s history, Americans would pay federal income taxes. By today’s standards, those 1861 rates seem downright quaint: 3 percent on income above $800 and 5 percent on those living outside the country. The following year the law was revised to levy a 3 percent tax on income beyond $600 and 5 percent on earnings over $10,000. But those quaint rates generated 25 percent of the Civil Wars’ costs, according to Robert Hormats, author of The Price of Liberty, which details the financing of American wars.
President Lincoln endured extraordinary pressures during the long Civil War. He carried on despite generals who weren't ready to fight, assassination threats, bickering among his Cabinet members, huge loss of life on the battlefields, and opposition from groups such as the Copperheads. However, Lincoln remained brave and persevered. He didn't give in to the pressures and end the war early. He kept fighting until the Confederacy was defeated. A lesser man would have given in and stopped the war before the goals had been achieved. Lincoln did not do this.
Lincoln's most famous speech was the Gettysburg Address. In the address Lincoln explained that our nation was fighting the Civil War to see if we would survive as a country. He stated it was proper to dedicate a portion of the Gettysburg battlefield as a remembrance of the men who had fought and died there. Lincoln said that the people who were still alive must dedicate themselves to finish the task that the dead soldiers had begun which was to save the nation so it would not perish from the earth.
One important way Lincoln effects contemporary society is that we look back on his presidency as a role model for future generations. Lincoln's high character affects us because we compare present-day politicians to the example Lincoln set. Another effect is in the area of quotations. Politicians love to quote Abraham Lincoln because Lincoln is considered America's wisest president. A major effect Lincoln has on the U.S. today is simply through the good example he set when it came to leadership and integrity. Many American politicians in our time try to emulate his thinking by using Lincoln quotes in their speeches.
Lincoln had a benevolent leadership style in contrast to oppressive, participatory, or laissez-faire. When there was disagreement among advisors and himself, his leadership style often involved telling a story that demonstrated his point. Lots of times this method worked, and people admired and respected him for it. He could virtually disarm his enemies with his highly moralistic, skillful leadership. Lincoln possessed qualities of kindness and compassion combined with wisdom. In fact, one of his nicknames was "Father Abraham." Like George Washington, Lincoln demonstrated an extraordinary strength of character, but Lincoln's unique style of leadership involved telling stories which explained his actions and influenced others to follow his lead.
Lincoln rose to the top through sheer ambition and hard work. He had nearly no education at all. He spent less than 12 months attending schools as a youth growing up on the frontier. Each one was very small, and the lessons were most often taught orally, and schools thus got the nickname "blab" schools. Later when he moved to New Salem, Illinois, he began to study law books in his spare time. In New Salem he earned the nickname "Honest Abe." He was almost totally self-educated, and he became a lawyer in 1836, although he never attended college. Lincoln was a very successful attorney with a large practice prior to his election as president in 1860. Additionally, Lincoln served four terms in the Illinois State House of Representatives and one term in Congress.
Probably the most important action Lincoln took was his decision to fight to preserve the Union. In the end this decision to fight the Civil War resulted in the USA remaining one nation rather than splitting into two separate countries. Although Lincoln was criticized for stepping over the traditional bounds of executive power, he was faced with the greatest threat to federal authority in the history of the country. He felt his job was to protect the Union from disintegrating. Also, Lincoln's contribution in the area of freedom for the slaves is extremely important. He got the ball rolling with the Emancipation Proclamation. We honor Abraham Lincoln for his actions in preserving the Union and beginning the process of freedom for slaves.
Abraham Lincoln is remembered for his vital role as the leader in preserving the Union during the Civil War and beginning the process (Emancipation Proclamation) that led to the end of slavery in the United States. He is also remembered for his character and leadership, his speeches and letters, and as a man of humble origins whose determination and perseverance led him to the nation's highest office.
Public debt increased 15 times over between 1961 and 1965. But under Lincoln, the Union was careful to maintain sound fiscal footing. For the first time in the country’s history, Americans would pay federal income taxes. By today’s standards, those 1861 rates seem downright quaint: 3 percent on income above $800 and 5 percent on those living outside the country. The following year the law was revised to levy a 3 percent tax on income beyond $600 and 5 percent on earnings over $10,000. But those quaint rates generated 25 percent of the Civil Wars’ costs, according to Robert Hormats, author of The Price of Liberty, which details the financing of American wars.
President Lincoln endured extraordinary pressures during the long Civil War. He carried on despite generals who weren't ready to fight, assassination threats, bickering among his Cabinet members, huge loss of life on the battlefields, and opposition from groups such as the Copperheads. However, Lincoln remained brave and persevered. He didn't give in to the pressures and end the war early. He kept fighting until the Confederacy was defeated. A lesser man would have given in and stopped the war before the goals had been achieved. Lincoln did not do this.
Lincoln's most famous speech was the Gettysburg Address. In the address Lincoln explained that our nation was fighting the Civil War to see if we would survive as a country. He stated it was proper to dedicate a portion of the Gettysburg battlefield as a remembrance of the men who had fought and died there. Lincoln said that the people who were still alive must dedicate themselves to finish the task that the dead soldiers had begun which was to save the nation so it would not perish from the earth.
One important way Lincoln effects contemporary society is that we look back on his presidency as a role model for future generations. Lincoln's high character affects us because we compare present-day politicians to the example Lincoln set. Another effect is in the area of quotations. Politicians love to quote Abraham Lincoln because Lincoln is considered America's wisest president. A major effect Lincoln has on the U.S. today is simply through the good example he set when it came to leadership and integrity. Many American politicians in our time try to emulate his thinking by using Lincoln quotes in their speeches.
Lincoln had a benevolent leadership style in contrast to oppressive, participatory, or laissez-faire. When there was disagreement among advisors and himself, his leadership style often involved telling a story that demonstrated his point. Lots of times this method worked, and people admired and respected him for it. He could virtually disarm his enemies with his highly moralistic, skillful leadership. Lincoln possessed qualities of kindness and compassion combined with wisdom. In fact, one of his nicknames was "Father Abraham." Like George Washington, Lincoln demonstrated an extraordinary strength of character, but Lincoln's unique style of leadership involved telling stories which explained his actions and influenced others to follow his lead.
Lincoln rose to the top through sheer ambition and hard work. He had nearly no education at all. He spent less than 12 months attending schools as a youth growing up on the frontier. Each one was very small, and the lessons were most often taught orally, and schools thus got the nickname "blab" schools. Later when he moved to New Salem, Illinois, he began to study law books in his spare time. In New Salem he earned the nickname "Honest Abe." He was almost totally self-educated, and he became a lawyer in 1836, although he never attended college. Lincoln was a very successful attorney with a large practice prior to his election as president in 1860. Additionally, Lincoln served four terms in the Illinois State House of Representatives and one term in Congress.
Probably the most important action Lincoln took was his decision to fight to preserve the Union. In the end this decision to fight the Civil War resulted in the USA remaining one nation rather than splitting into two separate countries. Although Lincoln was criticized for stepping over the traditional bounds of executive power, he was faced with the greatest threat to federal authority in the history of the country. He felt his job was to protect the Union from disintegrating. Also, Lincoln's contribution in the area of freedom for the slaves is extremely important. He got the ball rolling with the Emancipation Proclamation. We honor Abraham Lincoln for his actions in preserving the Union and beginning the process of freedom for slaves.
George Washington
George Washington was the first President of the United States, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
Another paragraph, about the national debt, may be more compelling today. Washington, a Federalist, began by advising Americans to “cherish public credit” because it was “a very important source of strength and security.” In the view of most of the Founders, securing life, liberty and property was the major public good that the government had to provide, so endangering public credit, especially in the service of partisan politics, wasn’t something Washington would have countenanced. Washington closed the paragraph on national debt with a few thoughts on taxation. Citizens, he wrote, “should practically bear in mind that towards the payment of debts there must be revenue; that to have revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant.” Once levied due to “public exigencies,” however, Americans were duty-bound to pay their taxes with “a spirit of acquiescence.”
Historians have written about Washington’s commitment to American independence and that he frequently referred to it as “our glorious cause.” And Washington walked the talk. Henry Steele Commager once observed Washington’s sacrifice for America was supported by the facts that he served as commander of the Continental Army without pay and was nearly bankrupt by the time he returned home to Mount Vernon after serving as the country’s first president. On one occasion when approached by soldiers who wanted to overthrow the wartime government and set up Washington to lead the country, he met with them and made it clear that the thought of overthrowing the colonial American government was repulsive to him and under no circumstances would he consider it.
Like many great leaders who inspire their followers, George Washington valued the people he led rather than thinking of them as means to an end. Richard Neustadt, Presidential Scholar at Harvard University, once observed the following about Washington: “It wasn’t his generalship that made him stand out . . . It was the way he attended to and stuck by his men. His soldiers knew that he respected and cared for them, and that he would share their severe hardships.” Edward G. Lengel, described Washington’s leadership during the extraordinarily cold winter of 1777–78 at Valley Forge as “sacrificial” and noted that “he took great care in seeing that his soldiers were well housed.”
Washington was confident, yet humble. His humility was reflected in the way he gave people a voice by seeking and considering their opinions and ideas. David McCullough wrote that during the Revolutionary War, Washington listened to the advice of his war council, a group of soldiers who reported directly to him, and their advice helped him avoid what would have been costly mistakes. Historians have noted that during the Constitutional Convention over which Washington presided, he rarely said a word other than to intervene and make decisions to break a logjam in the deliberations.
The foregoing historical observations paint the picture of a leader who inspired the confidence of the people he led. Joseph Ellis wrote that with all the brilliant individuals surrounding him—John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and others—Washington was the one to whom they indisputably looked as the greatest leader among them.
George Washington’s reputation even held up under the critical scrutiny of the tough and thorough, two time Pulitzer-prize winning historian Barbara Tuchman. While writing The First Salute, her gripping account of the American Revolution, Mrs. Tuchman struggled with the onset of blindness. With help from her daughter, she persevered to complete the volume that included a leader who truly inspired her. In an interview with Bill Moyers, Mrs. Tuchman spoke of how much she admired George Washington’s courage and perseverance despite the enormous obstacles he faced and how she and her daughter encouraged one another with the rallying cry, “remember George.”
George Washington, like all effective leaders, communicated an inspiring vision and lived it, valued people and gave them a voice. Under his leadership the colonists pulled off one of history’s greatest upsets by defeating the preeminent military power of their age with an under-trained, under-resourced militia.
George Washington was the first President of the United States, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.
Another paragraph, about the national debt, may be more compelling today. Washington, a Federalist, began by advising Americans to “cherish public credit” because it was “a very important source of strength and security.” In the view of most of the Founders, securing life, liberty and property was the major public good that the government had to provide, so endangering public credit, especially in the service of partisan politics, wasn’t something Washington would have countenanced. Washington closed the paragraph on national debt with a few thoughts on taxation. Citizens, he wrote, “should practically bear in mind that towards the payment of debts there must be revenue; that to have revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and unpleasant.” Once levied due to “public exigencies,” however, Americans were duty-bound to pay their taxes with “a spirit of acquiescence.”
Historians have written about Washington’s commitment to American independence and that he frequently referred to it as “our glorious cause.” And Washington walked the talk. Henry Steele Commager once observed Washington’s sacrifice for America was supported by the facts that he served as commander of the Continental Army without pay and was nearly bankrupt by the time he returned home to Mount Vernon after serving as the country’s first president. On one occasion when approached by soldiers who wanted to overthrow the wartime government and set up Washington to lead the country, he met with them and made it clear that the thought of overthrowing the colonial American government was repulsive to him and under no circumstances would he consider it.
Like many great leaders who inspire their followers, George Washington valued the people he led rather than thinking of them as means to an end. Richard Neustadt, Presidential Scholar at Harvard University, once observed the following about Washington: “It wasn’t his generalship that made him stand out . . . It was the way he attended to and stuck by his men. His soldiers knew that he respected and cared for them, and that he would share their severe hardships.” Edward G. Lengel, described Washington’s leadership during the extraordinarily cold winter of 1777–78 at Valley Forge as “sacrificial” and noted that “he took great care in seeing that his soldiers were well housed.”
Washington was confident, yet humble. His humility was reflected in the way he gave people a voice by seeking and considering their opinions and ideas. David McCullough wrote that during the Revolutionary War, Washington listened to the advice of his war council, a group of soldiers who reported directly to him, and their advice helped him avoid what would have been costly mistakes. Historians have noted that during the Constitutional Convention over which Washington presided, he rarely said a word other than to intervene and make decisions to break a logjam in the deliberations.
The foregoing historical observations paint the picture of a leader who inspired the confidence of the people he led. Joseph Ellis wrote that with all the brilliant individuals surrounding him—John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and others—Washington was the one to whom they indisputably looked as the greatest leader among them.
George Washington’s reputation even held up under the critical scrutiny of the tough and thorough, two time Pulitzer-prize winning historian Barbara Tuchman. While writing The First Salute, her gripping account of the American Revolution, Mrs. Tuchman struggled with the onset of blindness. With help from her daughter, she persevered to complete the volume that included a leader who truly inspired her. In an interview with Bill Moyers, Mrs. Tuchman spoke of how much she admired George Washington’s courage and perseverance despite the enormous obstacles he faced and how she and her daughter encouraged one another with the rallying cry, “remember George.”
George Washington, like all effective leaders, communicated an inspiring vision and lived it, valued people and gave them a voice. Under his leadership the colonists pulled off one of history’s greatest upsets by defeating the preeminent military power of their age with an under-trained, under-resourced militia.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
The United States has never had another leader like Franklin D. Roosevelt. Serving for 12 years, far longer than any other president, he had such a profound impact on the nation and the world that he is widely recognized as one of the transformational figures of the 20th Century and one of America's best presidents. In "No Ordinary Time," historian Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote, "The Roosevelt years had witnessed the most profound social revolution in the country since the Civil War – nothing less than the creation of modern America." By the time he left office, the United States had become a superpower, able and willing to exert its influence around the globe. It was a nation of newfound prosperity; a country where the federal government, with the people's support, had become the engine of change in nearly every sphere of national life and would build on that power for many years. In the process, FDR made the Democrats into a ruling party. The underpinning of FDR's New Deal remain in place today, including a powerful executive branch and a culture of celebrity surrounding the president, carefully enhanced and nurtured by FDR during his long tenure.
Although the national debt increased during his presidency, he did assume presidency while they were in war.
One of FDR's most important attributes as a leader was his ability to empathize with his fellow citizens, to show that he cared for them and would do everything he could to help them This enhanced his political power by connecting him irrevocably to everyday people. It's something that presidents have tried to do ever since, but few have accomplished it as well as Roosevelt.
He had contracted polio in 1921, at age 39, and never recovered the use of his paralyzed legs. Eleanor, his wife, said this experience of struggling and failing to conquer the disease broke him out of the isolation of his background as a patrician who had lived a life of ease and privilege. In his experience with polio, he learned what it was like to struggle, and fail, but to persevere.
FDR said it was the president's "duty" to "keep in touch, personal touch, with the nation...to try to tie together in my own mind the problems of the nation." As president, FDR was an eager student of what was going on around the country, reading the newspapers, listening to members of Congress, staff members and friends, and most of all paying close attention to what his wife observed during her many fact-finding trips in the United States and visits to American troops abroad.
FDR also knew how to manage the news media to rally support for his agenda. He cultivated newspaper reporters, and even though publishers were often against his policies, he got favorable coverage from the journalists who actually wrote the stories about him. He would hold two or three press conferences per week and had the reporters gather around him, informally, as he sat at his big Oval Office desk. The reporters loved the access and the personal connection to the president, and they became fans of FDR.
He pioneered the use of radio, an increasingly popular medium in the United States. He held 30 "fireside chats" during his 12 years as president, addressing the country directly as if he were talking with a household after a family dinner. He didn't want to overdo it, knowing that any politician could wear out his welcome with too much exposure. But the fireside chats were eagerly anticipated and made FDR, with his pleasant, distinctive voice and boundless optimism, a welcome guest in countless homes.
When he died at age 63 of a cerebral hemorrhage at his Warm Springs, Georgia, vacation home on April 12, 1945, immense grief spread across the country. It was only a few weeks after FDR had been sworn in for an unprecedented fourth term, and many Americans wondered if anyone could replace him. As his funeral train made its way across the nation, a man was found weeping along the route, and was asked if he had known FDR. "I didn't know him," the man replied. "But he knew me." This was a feeling shared by millions of Americans.
The United States has never had another leader like Franklin D. Roosevelt. Serving for 12 years, far longer than any other president, he had such a profound impact on the nation and the world that he is widely recognized as one of the transformational figures of the 20th Century and one of America's best presidents. In "No Ordinary Time," historian Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote, "The Roosevelt years had witnessed the most profound social revolution in the country since the Civil War – nothing less than the creation of modern America." By the time he left office, the United States had become a superpower, able and willing to exert its influence around the globe. It was a nation of newfound prosperity; a country where the federal government, with the people's support, had become the engine of change in nearly every sphere of national life and would build on that power for many years. In the process, FDR made the Democrats into a ruling party. The underpinning of FDR's New Deal remain in place today, including a powerful executive branch and a culture of celebrity surrounding the president, carefully enhanced and nurtured by FDR during his long tenure.
Although the national debt increased during his presidency, he did assume presidency while they were in war.
One of FDR's most important attributes as a leader was his ability to empathize with his fellow citizens, to show that he cared for them and would do everything he could to help them This enhanced his political power by connecting him irrevocably to everyday people. It's something that presidents have tried to do ever since, but few have accomplished it as well as Roosevelt.
He had contracted polio in 1921, at age 39, and never recovered the use of his paralyzed legs. Eleanor, his wife, said this experience of struggling and failing to conquer the disease broke him out of the isolation of his background as a patrician who had lived a life of ease and privilege. In his experience with polio, he learned what it was like to struggle, and fail, but to persevere.
FDR said it was the president's "duty" to "keep in touch, personal touch, with the nation...to try to tie together in my own mind the problems of the nation." As president, FDR was an eager student of what was going on around the country, reading the newspapers, listening to members of Congress, staff members and friends, and most of all paying close attention to what his wife observed during her many fact-finding trips in the United States and visits to American troops abroad.
FDR also knew how to manage the news media to rally support for his agenda. He cultivated newspaper reporters, and even though publishers were often against his policies, he got favorable coverage from the journalists who actually wrote the stories about him. He would hold two or three press conferences per week and had the reporters gather around him, informally, as he sat at his big Oval Office desk. The reporters loved the access and the personal connection to the president, and they became fans of FDR.
He pioneered the use of radio, an increasingly popular medium in the United States. He held 30 "fireside chats" during his 12 years as president, addressing the country directly as if he were talking with a household after a family dinner. He didn't want to overdo it, knowing that any politician could wear out his welcome with too much exposure. But the fireside chats were eagerly anticipated and made FDR, with his pleasant, distinctive voice and boundless optimism, a welcome guest in countless homes.
When he died at age 63 of a cerebral hemorrhage at his Warm Springs, Georgia, vacation home on April 12, 1945, immense grief spread across the country. It was only a few weeks after FDR had been sworn in for an unprecedented fourth term, and many Americans wondered if anyone could replace him. As his funeral train made its way across the nation, a man was found weeping along the route, and was asked if he had known FDR. "I didn't know him," the man replied. "But he knew me." This was a feeling shared by millions of Americans.
The 3 Worst Presidents
James Buchanan
April 23 marks the birthday of James Buchanan, the man regarded by many historians as one of the worst—if not the worst—presidents of all time. Today, most people know Buchanan for three things: He was single for his entire presidency; he’s the only president from Pennsylvania; and he was the president before Abraham Lincoln. It’s that final point that has been the lasting part of the Buchanan presidency, with his apparent indifference to the onset of the Civil War, that has riled up so many academics.
In his inaugural address, Buchanan called the territorial issue of slavery “happily, a matter of but little practical importance.” He had been tipped off about the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case, which came shortly after the inauguration. Buchanan supported the theory that states and territories have a right to determine if they would allow slavery. (There were also reports Buchanan may have influenced the court’s ruling.) The Dred Scott decision angered and solidified Buchanan’s Republican opponents, and it drove a wedge into the Democratic Party. The country also went into an economic recession as the Civil War approached.
In his State of the Union message to Congress, Buchanan said he believed the South’s secession wasn’t legal, but the federal government didn’t have the power to stop it. “All for which the slave States have ever contended, is to be let alone and permitted to manage their domestic institutions in their own way. As sovereign States, they, and they alone, are responsible before God and the world for the slavery existing among them. For this the people of the North are not more responsible and have no more fight to interfere than with similar institutions in Russia or in Brazil,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan also explained why he wasn’t actively involved in the secession battle as president. “It is beyond the power of any president, no matter what may be his own political proclivities, to restore peace and harmony among the states. Wisely limited and restrained as is his power under our Constitution and laws, he alone can accomplish but little for good or for evil on such a momentous question.”
Buchanan did little else during the crisis. Part of his Cabinet resigned. And although he wouldn’t give up Fort Sumter, his inaction gave the new Confederacy time to organize.
Buchanan had other issues during his presidency, including an obsession with Cuba and a controversy involving a war with Mormon settlers in the Utah territory. Buchanan retired to his estate in central Pennsylvania and lived to see the end of the Civil War. Just before his death in 1868, he said, “History will vindicate my memory from every unjust aspersion.”
Even before he became president, he supported the various compromises that made it possible for slavery to spread into the western territories acquired by the Lousiana Purchase and the Mexican War. (Particularly hurtful to the cause of restraining slavery's spread was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, for example, allowed settlers to determine the status of slavery in their proposed state constitutions.)
In his inaugural address, the 15th president tacitly encouraged the Supreme Court's forthcoming Dred Scott decision, which ruled that Congress had no power to keep slavery out of the territories.
More damaging to his name, though, was his weak acquiescence before the secessionist tide—an unwillingness to challenge those states that declared their intention to withdraw from the Union after Lincoln's election. Sitting on his hands as the situation spiraled out of control, Buchanan believed that the Constitution gave him no power to act against would-be seceders.
April 23 marks the birthday of James Buchanan, the man regarded by many historians as one of the worst—if not the worst—presidents of all time. Today, most people know Buchanan for three things: He was single for his entire presidency; he’s the only president from Pennsylvania; and he was the president before Abraham Lincoln. It’s that final point that has been the lasting part of the Buchanan presidency, with his apparent indifference to the onset of the Civil War, that has riled up so many academics.
In his inaugural address, Buchanan called the territorial issue of slavery “happily, a matter of but little practical importance.” He had been tipped off about the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case, which came shortly after the inauguration. Buchanan supported the theory that states and territories have a right to determine if they would allow slavery. (There were also reports Buchanan may have influenced the court’s ruling.) The Dred Scott decision angered and solidified Buchanan’s Republican opponents, and it drove a wedge into the Democratic Party. The country also went into an economic recession as the Civil War approached.
In his State of the Union message to Congress, Buchanan said he believed the South’s secession wasn’t legal, but the federal government didn’t have the power to stop it. “All for which the slave States have ever contended, is to be let alone and permitted to manage their domestic institutions in their own way. As sovereign States, they, and they alone, are responsible before God and the world for the slavery existing among them. For this the people of the North are not more responsible and have no more fight to interfere than with similar institutions in Russia or in Brazil,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan also explained why he wasn’t actively involved in the secession battle as president. “It is beyond the power of any president, no matter what may be his own political proclivities, to restore peace and harmony among the states. Wisely limited and restrained as is his power under our Constitution and laws, he alone can accomplish but little for good or for evil on such a momentous question.”
Buchanan did little else during the crisis. Part of his Cabinet resigned. And although he wouldn’t give up Fort Sumter, his inaction gave the new Confederacy time to organize.
Buchanan had other issues during his presidency, including an obsession with Cuba and a controversy involving a war with Mormon settlers in the Utah territory. Buchanan retired to his estate in central Pennsylvania and lived to see the end of the Civil War. Just before his death in 1868, he said, “History will vindicate my memory from every unjust aspersion.”
Even before he became president, he supported the various compromises that made it possible for slavery to spread into the western territories acquired by the Lousiana Purchase and the Mexican War. (Particularly hurtful to the cause of restraining slavery's spread was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, for example, allowed settlers to determine the status of slavery in their proposed state constitutions.)
In his inaugural address, the 15th president tacitly encouraged the Supreme Court's forthcoming Dred Scott decision, which ruled that Congress had no power to keep slavery out of the territories.
More damaging to his name, though, was his weak acquiescence before the secessionist tide—an unwillingness to challenge those states that declared their intention to withdraw from the Union after Lincoln's election. Sitting on his hands as the situation spiraled out of control, Buchanan believed that the Constitution gave him no power to act against would-be seceders.
Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding's claim to infamy rests on spectacular ineptitude captured in his own pathetic words: "I am not fit for this office and should never have been here."
A former newspaperman and publisher who won a string of offices in his native Ohio, he was an unrestrained womanizer noted for his affability, good looks, and implacable desire to please. It was good, his father once told him, that he hadn't been born a girl, "because you'd be in the family way all the time. You can't say no."
Harding should have said no when Republican Party bosses in the proverbial smoke-filled room (a phrase that originated with this instance) made him their 11th-hour pick for the highest office. He was so reassuringly vague in his campaign declarations that he was understood to support both the foes and the backers of U.S. entry into the League of Nations, the hottest issue of the day.
Once in the White House, the 29th president busied himself with golf, poker, and his mistress, while appointees and cronies plundered the U.S. government in a variety of creative ways. (His secretary of the interior allowed oilmen, for a modest under-the-table sum, to tap into government oil reserves, including one in Teapot Dome, Wyo.)
"I have no trouble with my enemies," Harding once said, adding that it was his friends who "keep me walking the floor nights." Stress no doubt contributed to his death in office, probably from a stroke.
Harding was an Ohio newspaper publisher who eventually rose to become U.S. Senator; he preferred poker, socializing and, it was said, womanizing to working. Republican bosses favored Harding, however, finding him charismatic and pliant, and he won the presidency in 1920 promising to restore pre–World War I "normalcy" (his mangling of the word normality was ridiculed by critics).
Once in office, Harding admitted to his close friends that the job was beyond him. The capable men that Harding appointed to his cabinet included Charles Evans Hughes as secretary of state, Andrew Mellon as secretary of the treasury, and Herbert Hoover as secretary of commerce. But he also surrounded himself with dishonest cheats, who came to be known as "the Ohio gang." Many of them were later charged with defrauding the government, and some of them went to jail. Though Harding knew of the limitations of men like Harry Dougherty, the slick friend he appointed attorney general, he liked to play poker with them, drink whiskey, smoke, tell jokes, play golf, and keep late hours.
In office, Harding appointed a slew of corrupt officials, prompting the Teapot Dome bribery scandal, which for the first time sent a Cabinet secretary to prison. An accused adulterer, Harding was the subject of a best-selling memoir by a woman who claimed to be his mistress and the mother of his illegitimate daughter.
Harding died in office. He lives on partly as a cautionary tale told by author Malcolm Gladwell. In his book Blink, Gladwell says the "Warren Harding error" led supporters to assume he'd be a good President simply because he appeared stately and presidential. It didn't quite work out that way.
Most historians regard Harding as the worst President in the nation's history. In the end, it was not his corrupt friends, but rather, Harding's own lack of vision that was most responsible for the tarnished legacy.
Warren G. Harding's claim to infamy rests on spectacular ineptitude captured in his own pathetic words: "I am not fit for this office and should never have been here."
A former newspaperman and publisher who won a string of offices in his native Ohio, he was an unrestrained womanizer noted for his affability, good looks, and implacable desire to please. It was good, his father once told him, that he hadn't been born a girl, "because you'd be in the family way all the time. You can't say no."
Harding should have said no when Republican Party bosses in the proverbial smoke-filled room (a phrase that originated with this instance) made him their 11th-hour pick for the highest office. He was so reassuringly vague in his campaign declarations that he was understood to support both the foes and the backers of U.S. entry into the League of Nations, the hottest issue of the day.
Once in the White House, the 29th president busied himself with golf, poker, and his mistress, while appointees and cronies plundered the U.S. government in a variety of creative ways. (His secretary of the interior allowed oilmen, for a modest under-the-table sum, to tap into government oil reserves, including one in Teapot Dome, Wyo.)
"I have no trouble with my enemies," Harding once said, adding that it was his friends who "keep me walking the floor nights." Stress no doubt contributed to his death in office, probably from a stroke.
Harding was an Ohio newspaper publisher who eventually rose to become U.S. Senator; he preferred poker, socializing and, it was said, womanizing to working. Republican bosses favored Harding, however, finding him charismatic and pliant, and he won the presidency in 1920 promising to restore pre–World War I "normalcy" (his mangling of the word normality was ridiculed by critics).
Once in office, Harding admitted to his close friends that the job was beyond him. The capable men that Harding appointed to his cabinet included Charles Evans Hughes as secretary of state, Andrew Mellon as secretary of the treasury, and Herbert Hoover as secretary of commerce. But he also surrounded himself with dishonest cheats, who came to be known as "the Ohio gang." Many of them were later charged with defrauding the government, and some of them went to jail. Though Harding knew of the limitations of men like Harry Dougherty, the slick friend he appointed attorney general, he liked to play poker with them, drink whiskey, smoke, tell jokes, play golf, and keep late hours.
In office, Harding appointed a slew of corrupt officials, prompting the Teapot Dome bribery scandal, which for the first time sent a Cabinet secretary to prison. An accused adulterer, Harding was the subject of a best-selling memoir by a woman who claimed to be his mistress and the mother of his illegitimate daughter.
Harding died in office. He lives on partly as a cautionary tale told by author Malcolm Gladwell. In his book Blink, Gladwell says the "Warren Harding error" led supporters to assume he'd be a good President simply because he appeared stately and presidential. It didn't quite work out that way.
Most historians regard Harding as the worst President in the nation's history. In the end, it was not his corrupt friends, but rather, Harding's own lack of vision that was most responsible for the tarnished legacy.
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson has risen in scholarly dis-esteem since the publication of Arthur Schlesinger's 1948 poll probably because the post-Civil War Reconstruction has enjoyed a thorough scholarly face-lift, and Johnson is now scorned for having resisted Radical Republican policies aimed at securing the rights and well-being of the newly emancipated African-Americans.
Before he was president, historian Woodrow Wilson did a lastingly thorough job of sullying Reconstruction, depicting it as a vindictive program that hurt even repentant southerners while benefiting northern opportunists, the so-called Carpetbaggers, and cynical white southerners, or Scalawags, who exploited alliances with blacks for political gain.
A native North Carolinian of humble origins, Johnson worked as a tailor and eventually settled in Tennessee, where he entered politics as a populist Jackson Democrat. He was elected to several high offices, including U.S. senator.
Though no abolitionist, he was a staunch supporter of the Union and the only southerner to retain his seat in the Senate after secession. For his loyalty, Lincoln appointed him military governor of Tennessee, where he set about suppressing Confederates and championing black suffrage. (Tennessee became the first southern state to end slavery by state law.) Lincoln selected him as his running mate in 1864, and Johnson became the 17th president only a month after being sworn in as vice president.
Unfortunately, his subsequent battles with Radical Republicans in Congress over a host of Reconstruction measures revealed political ineptitude and an astonishing indifference toward the plight of the newly freed African-Americans. In addition to vetoing renewal of the Freedman's Bureau and the first civil rights bill, he encouraged opposition to the 14th Amendment.
An increasingly nasty power struggle—in which Congress wrongly attempted to strip him of certain constitutionally delegated powers—resulted in the first presidential impeachment and a near conviction. Failing to be renominated, he returned to Tennessee and was again elected to the U.S. Senate.
History's current verdict may prove to be overly harsh, but it is fair to say that Johnson did turn a blind eye to those southerners who tried to undo what the Civil War had accomplished.
In Johnson’s case, Lincoln was a tough act to follow, and his failed role in obstructing much of the GOP’s Reconstruction plans was a tough pill for historians to swallow. After becoming president, Johnson fought with his own Cabinet and party members over the scope of readmitting secessionist states and the voting rights of blacks. Johnson favored a very lenient version of Reconstruction and state control over who could vote, according to their race. He also openly opposed the 14th Amendment. Although Johnson had supported an end to slavery in the 1860s, he was a white supremacist. “This is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President, it shall be a government for white men,” he wrote in 1866.
In the end, the Radical Republicans won control over Reconstruction and Johnson became a pariah.Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Bill, but Congress overrode the veto in an unprecedented move. Somehow, Johnson survived the impeachment trial, possibly because there was no vice president to replace him, and moderates feared Benjamin Wade, the Senate president pro tempore who would have replaced Johnson.
The Radical Republicans also eventually failed, and Reconstruction had ended within a decade. Racial discrimination continued on into the middle of the following century.
Andrew Johnson has risen in scholarly dis-esteem since the publication of Arthur Schlesinger's 1948 poll probably because the post-Civil War Reconstruction has enjoyed a thorough scholarly face-lift, and Johnson is now scorned for having resisted Radical Republican policies aimed at securing the rights and well-being of the newly emancipated African-Americans.
Before he was president, historian Woodrow Wilson did a lastingly thorough job of sullying Reconstruction, depicting it as a vindictive program that hurt even repentant southerners while benefiting northern opportunists, the so-called Carpetbaggers, and cynical white southerners, or Scalawags, who exploited alliances with blacks for political gain.
A native North Carolinian of humble origins, Johnson worked as a tailor and eventually settled in Tennessee, where he entered politics as a populist Jackson Democrat. He was elected to several high offices, including U.S. senator.
Though no abolitionist, he was a staunch supporter of the Union and the only southerner to retain his seat in the Senate after secession. For his loyalty, Lincoln appointed him military governor of Tennessee, where he set about suppressing Confederates and championing black suffrage. (Tennessee became the first southern state to end slavery by state law.) Lincoln selected him as his running mate in 1864, and Johnson became the 17th president only a month after being sworn in as vice president.
Unfortunately, his subsequent battles with Radical Republicans in Congress over a host of Reconstruction measures revealed political ineptitude and an astonishing indifference toward the plight of the newly freed African-Americans. In addition to vetoing renewal of the Freedman's Bureau and the first civil rights bill, he encouraged opposition to the 14th Amendment.
An increasingly nasty power struggle—in which Congress wrongly attempted to strip him of certain constitutionally delegated powers—resulted in the first presidential impeachment and a near conviction. Failing to be renominated, he returned to Tennessee and was again elected to the U.S. Senate.
History's current verdict may prove to be overly harsh, but it is fair to say that Johnson did turn a blind eye to those southerners who tried to undo what the Civil War had accomplished.
In Johnson’s case, Lincoln was a tough act to follow, and his failed role in obstructing much of the GOP’s Reconstruction plans was a tough pill for historians to swallow. After becoming president, Johnson fought with his own Cabinet and party members over the scope of readmitting secessionist states and the voting rights of blacks. Johnson favored a very lenient version of Reconstruction and state control over who could vote, according to their race. He also openly opposed the 14th Amendment. Although Johnson had supported an end to slavery in the 1860s, he was a white supremacist. “This is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President, it shall be a government for white men,” he wrote in 1866.
In the end, the Radical Republicans won control over Reconstruction and Johnson became a pariah.Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Bill, but Congress overrode the veto in an unprecedented move. Somehow, Johnson survived the impeachment trial, possibly because there was no vice president to replace him, and moderates feared Benjamin Wade, the Senate president pro tempore who would have replaced Johnson.
The Radical Republicans also eventually failed, and Reconstruction had ended within a decade. Racial discrimination continued on into the middle of the following century.
by: Caroline Miller
Throughout the ages, the legacies of every president has been debated. So many online articles have been posted ranking the presidents through scores developed by comparing presidents through common categories like unemployment rate, etc. If we want to rank our presidents on job performance what is the appropriate way to rank them?
In this blog post I will be sharing my opinion on who the three best and three worst presidents are. Throughout the post I will be comparing my selected presidents through the national debt during their presidency, the unemployment rate during their presidency, and their overall approval ranking. I believe that these are solid categories that reflect how well the president has done their job (the national debt and the unemployment rate) and also what the public thinks about each president (the approval rating). I will also be including a few other pieces of evidence to solidify my argument.
Throughout the ages, the legacies of every president has been debated. So many online articles have been posted ranking the presidents through scores developed by comparing presidents through common categories like unemployment rate, etc. If we want to rank our presidents on job performance what is the appropriate way to rank them?
In this blog post I will be sharing my opinion on who the three best and three worst presidents are. Throughout the post I will be comparing my selected presidents through the national debt during their presidency, the unemployment rate during their presidency, and their overall approval ranking. I believe that these are solid categories that reflect how well the president has done their job (the national debt and the unemployment rate) and also what the public thinks about each president (the approval rating). I will also be including a few other pieces of evidence to solidify my argument.
The Three Best Presidents of All Time
In this section I will be giving my opinion on who I believe the three best presidents are. They are in no order.
The first best president is Harry Truman. Harry Truman served from 1945-1953, meaning he served two consecutive terms, which in a way shows his popularity as a president. Overall, Truman wrapped up WWII in the best way possible. He made the incredibly tough decision to from the atomic bomb in order to save the lives of many Americans and to end the war. Post-war Germany and Japan were reformed in ways that prevented another conflict in the future, unlike the way WWI was handled. Most importantly, Truman knew to take the threat of communism seriously, just like Winston Churchill did. He started off the Cold War policy, and was willing to support a war in the Korean Peninsula to save the area from devastating communism, which still plagues North Korea to this day. He also recognized Israel, making the United States the first nation to do so. Along with Congress, he controlled fiscal policy in a way which didn't add much to our already massive war debt. A booming economy followed in suit.
The following section shows the national debt, unemployment rate, and approval rating of Harry Truman during his presidency.
The following section shows the national debt, unemployment rate, and approval rating of Harry Truman during his presidency.
National DebtStart of Presidency (1945): $258 billion End of Presidency (1953): $266 billion Truman was the first president since 1930 to reduce the nation’s debt and truly the only president to make an effort to cut the debt significantly. During his first year in office, Truman attempted to dig the country out of the Depression with an astronomical year-to-year national debt change. In 1942, FDR's national debt went up by $23 billion, then up $64 billion the next year, another $64 billion the following year, and to close out his presidency in 1945 with another large increase in debt by $57 billion, totally over $200 billion in increased debt in his last term. The numbers drastically dropped once Truman came to office, and within his 18 months in office, he reduced the debt by $11 billion and by the time he left office in 1953, he is the only president of the 1900s to exist the Oval Office with a reduced year-to-year national debt total. | Unemployment RateStart of Presidency (1945): 3.4% End of Presidency (1953): 2.9% This may not seem like a huge decrease, but you have to consider that Truman is in office following the end of the Depression and during WWII and the Cold War. During these time, many men are just coming back from war, and won’t have jobs immediately. Nonetheless, Truman lowered the unemployment rate, even with the rocky ride he had in the middle of his two terms. Comparing Truman to Eisenhower and Kennedy through Unemployment Graphs | Approval RatingHarry Truman’s average approval rating is 55.6%. This rating his quite high considering Truman served two terms. Many presidents who serve two terms tend to have lower ratings as they rating drops in the second term. Considering Truman served during WWII and the Cold War, he has quite a high approval rating. These were two very dangerous and controversial wars, which Truman handled very well, earning his 55.6% approval rating. Truman's Approval Rating Graph |
During Truman's presidency, he had to make the brave decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. This decision was made during the near end of his first year as president. Below is a link to a video of him discussing the decision.
The second best president is Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan served from 1981-1989, meaning he served two consecutive terms. Finishing off, mostly, the greatest enemy America ever faced, communism, and unleashing what would become 25+ years of strong economic growth is hard to beat. Reagan was able to work with a Democratic congress to do all he did too, influencing their decisions on many things, like spending money. On top of all his achievements, Reagan has an amazing sense of humor making him relatable to the common man.
The following section shows the national debt, unemployment rate, and approval rating of Ronald Reagan during his presidency.
National DebtStart of presidency (1981): $997.8 billion End of presidency (1989): $2.1 trillion Reagan began his presidency with a federal deficit of 2.5% of national economy and ended his two terms with that number doubling to 5%. Just four months into his presidency, Reagan told Congress that high taxes and big spending made the present economic mess and that doing the same won't get the U.S. out of their struggle. That moment cemented Reaganomics and our current economics woes. The Democrats that fell at Reagan's feet has to take their “spend and tax” methods and jump on board the “spend and borrow” Republicanism. To defeat former Vice President Walter Mondale in the 1984 election, Reagan's chief of staff passed him a note. On the note read “Taxes are a big picture issue. If we want to win – and win big – the exigencies of the election force us to solemnly swear that Mondale is the tax increase candidate and Reagan is the no-tax-increase candidate.” The note ended by saying after Reagan get re-elected, he could do whatever he pleased with the generalizations like the deficit. Interestingly enough previous Vice President Dick Cheney said that politically Reagan showed that deficits don't actually matter. Reagan proved that by running up more debt than any prior president and easily won re-election. | Unemployment RateStart of presidency (1981): 7.5% End of presidency (1989): 5.4 % Ronald Reagan significantly lowered the nation's unemployment rate. It went down over 2 percent, which is quite impressive for a president of two terms. When Reagan was elected into office, the unemployment rate was 3% higher than it currently is in 2016. When Reagan left office, the unemployment was close to what it is now (currently it is 4.9%). This is amazing considering back then we didn't have as many jobs as we do now. Reagan's Unemployment Rate vs. His Disapproval RateInteresting and Sort of Rude Comparison Found Online | Approval RatingRonald Reagan's overall approval rating was 50.3%. This may seen low, but being a president who faced a scandal, it's still fairly high. During most of his first year in office, Reagan's approval rating hovered in the high 50s, but with the country mired in an economic recession and unemployment at 10 percent, his ratings declined. Throughout 1982 and most of 1983 his approval ratings remained below 50 percent. In January 1983, only 41 percent of Americans approved of the job Reagan was doing -- it would be the lowest rating of his presidency.But as the economy began to rebound and unemployment declined, Reagan's ratings rebounded too. Heading into Election Day in 1984, 58 percent of Americans approved of his job performance, and he was easily reelected carrying 49 states. Reagan received some of his highest ratings in 1985 and 1986. In 1986, he reached an approval rating of 67 percent twice (in June and October)matching the rating he received when CBS News first measured it in 1981.However, the end of 1986 brought the Iran-Contra scandal which saw high-profile investigations by Congress and the Tower Commission. The scandal negatively impacted the Reagan presidency and by February 1987, Reagan's approval rating dropped to 42 percent. |
Reagan's Farewell Address and Winthrop's City Upon A Hill Similarities
Reagan knew this and this speech is his attempt to motivate the base that will lead to the election of the most republicans as possible. The next part of Reagan's address is based on the quote from John Winthrop, who said, "We will be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world." In essence, Winthrop was saying that America would go downing history as the nation that everyone looks to for help and with admiration. Winthrop was arguing that the Lord would continue to bless our nation and Reagan is agreeing with him. This feeling of being special makes people much more likely to support your mission and help you be successful as a politician. Ronald Reagan was always described as an optimist and his humor was always noted. Both of these qualities peek through during this speech. This sense of light heartedness makes the message being delivered seem less serious and foreboding. Like John F. Kennedy, Reagan was influenced by Winthrop's "City Upon a Hill"
The third best president in John F. Kennedy. His first term of service started in 1961 and tragically ended when he died in 1963. John F Kennedy was strong on foreign policy, he cut taxes, he created civil rights, and he was a massive inspiration to the country. He encouraged astronauts to go to the Moon, which is one of the best things America ever did. Here is a quotation on his economic philosophy, “I believe in an America where the free enterprise system flourished for all other systems to see and admire- where no businessman lacks either competition or credit- and where no monopoly, no racketeer, no government bureaucracy can put him out of business that he built with his own initiative.” Most of us have heard of the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the race to the moon. However, Kennedy is most known for his foreign policy more than anything else. After all, he was the president who stood at the Berlin gate and said, “Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’”. The crowd went absolutely wild. West Germans felt his support for their city that had just been divided by the Communists who held East Berlin. On the domestic, we’ve all heard Kennedy’s famous Inaugural speech, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” This powerful speech created the vision that would lead the country out of the 1960 recession, and set up the success for Kennedy’s short presidency.
The following section shows the national debt, unemployment rate, and approval rating of John F. Kennedy during his presidency.
The following section shows the national debt, unemployment rate, and approval rating of John F. Kennedy during his presidency.
National DebtBetween 1961-1963, Kennedy added $23 billion to the national debt. This was a moderate 8% increased to the $289 billion debt level at the end of Eisenhower’s last budget. His deficit spending, ended the recession, and helped contribute to an expansion that lasted until 1970Kennedy’s endorsements of deficit spending, which is mild by today’s standards, proved that government spending can jump start a lazy economy. He also increased the minimum wage, improved Social Security benefits, and passed an urban renewal practice. Federal Budget Deficit by President | Unemployment RateStart of Presidency (1961): 6.6% End of Presidency (1963): 5.7% From the very beginning of his presidency, Kennedy had the slogan, "Get America moving again." But, recovery from the 1958 recession had been very sluggish and unemployment remained perilously high—6.8% just after he took office. The Council of Economic Advisers urged him to attack unemployment with New Deal style spending but the president was worried that a large deficit ($7 billion) would be politically untenable in 1964. Unemployment did fall modestly, but it remained stagnant at nearly 6% well into 1963. The fact was that the New Frontier had been preoccupied with foreign affairs for three years and once the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was ratified, JFK realized that it was time to turn to the economy. The 1964 election was barely a year away and likely to be fought against an articulate economic conservative, Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona. | Approval RatingKennedy's overall approval rating was 70.1%. Ask almost anyone you know who one of the best presidents is, and they will for sure say, "JFK." In such a short three years, Kennedy made such a big mark on America. Compared to most other presidents, JFK enjoyed a very high public approval rating during his abbreviated presidency. Kennedy had the highest approval rating of any post WWII presidents. By comparison, between 1938-2012, the average approval rating is 54%. Many might ask, "Why is his approval so high if he was assassinated?" Well he was murdered by Lee Harvey Oswald, a man confused of being involved in a dangerous conspiracy. To show the public's deep set love for president Kennedy, Harvey was killed. He was being transported from the Dallas City Jail to the Dallas County Jail, when he was shot by Dallas nightclub owner, Jack Ruby, This clearly shows the loyalty to the public to Kennedy, even though it was a harsh and unnecessary method. |
The Three Worst Presidents of All Time
In this section I will be sharing my opinion on America's three worst presidents. There are in no order.
Reconciliation was the first goal set by President Richard M. Nixon. The Nation was painfully divided, with turbulence in the cities and war overseas. During his Presidency, Nixon succeeded in ending American fighting in Viet Nam and improving relations with the U.S.S.R. and China. But the Watergate scandal brought fresh divisions to the country and ultimately led to his resignation. Clearly his scandal and resignation shows his weak character, which is a sign of a bad president.
The following section shows the national debt, unemployment rate, and approval rating of John F. Kennedy during his presidency.
The following section shows the national debt, unemployment rate, and approval rating of John F. Kennedy during his presidency.
National DebtStart of Presidency (1969): $353 billion End of Presidency (1974): $475 billion The proudly proclaimed conservative Keynesian, President Nixon focused much of his early presidency on foreign and domestic economics as he took the reigns from Johnson's dwindling US economy and faced inflation within his first eight months in Washington. He didn't take a high priority on balancing the budget and by 1970, the economy looked to be heading to a recession. He failed to obtain more revenue through tax reform in 1969. With that, unemployment rose to 4.9% in parallel with inflation jumping to 5.7% which set off the federal budget deficit totaling $23.03 billion. But there was positives his N.E.P. as unemployment fell and output rose and he became the only president since World War II to bring an economic upturn in a presidential election year and he was re-elected. Clearly, Nixon's debt is much higher than my selected three best presidents. | Unemployment RateStart of Presidency (1969): 3.4% End of Presidency (1974): 5.1% President Nixon almost raised the unemployment rate 2%, which is a very high increase. Not to mention, during his 3rd year as president, the unemployment rate reached 6.7%. Compared to my three best presidents, instead of lowering the unemployment rate, he increased it. Watergate Scandal Newspaper ArticleNixon's Approval Rating Graph | Approval RatingNixon's overall approval rating was 55.8%. Despite subsequent historical judgment that holds a strongly negative view of Richard Nixon and his presidency, Nixon’s first years in office saw strong public approval ratings. Well over half of those polled through 1969 and 1970 approved of Nixon’s performance as president. For someone who already had a long public career and was well known in the public eye, he had a remarkably low disapproval rating when he took office. As 1969 progressed, many of the people who had not held an opinion had apparently decided they did not like what they saw, even as his approval rating remained fairly steady. Many people actually do not agree with Nixon's approval rating. His Watergate Scandal combined with the skyrocketing national debt makes Richard Nixon one of the worst presidents ever. Graph to the left clearly displays that Nixon's approval rating declined over the time of his presidency. |
Nixon's Watergate Scandal
Early in the morning of June 17, 1972, several burglars were arrested inside the office of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), located in the Watergate building in Washington, D.C. This was no ordinary robbery: The prowlers were connected to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign, and they had been caught while attempting to wiretap phones and steal secret documents. While historians are not sure whether Nixon knew about the Watergate espionage operation before it happened, he took steps to cover it up afterwards, raising “hush money” for the burglars, trying to stop the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from investigating the crime, destroying evidence and firing uncooperative staff members. In August 1974, after his role in the Watergate conspiracy had finally come to light, the president resigned. His successor, Gerald Ford, immediately pardoned Nixon for all the crimes he “committed or may have committed” while in office. Although Nixon was never prosecuted, the Watergate scandal changed American politics forever, leading many Americans to question their leadership and think more critically about the presidency.
Disclaimer: I don't believe Barrack Obama is one of the worst presidents, although I do not believe he was one of the best either. However, according to the data he fits into the category of being one of the worst presidents.
My second worst president is Barrack Obama. He was elected in 2008 and is still serving to this day (written: January 13th) and he served two terms. Between Inauguration Day and April 29, 2009, the Obama administration took action on many fronts. Obama coaxed Congress to expand health care insurance for children and provide legal protection for women seeking equal pay. A $787 billion stimulus bill was passed to promote short-term economic growth. Housing and credit markets were put on life support, with a market-based plan to buy U.S. banks' toxic assets. Loans were made to the auto industry, and new regulations were proposed for Wall Street. Obama also cut taxes for working families, small businesses and first-time home buyers. The president also loosened the ban on embryonic stem cell research and moved ahead with a $3.5 trillion budget plan. Over his first 100 days in office, President Obama also undertook a complete overhaul of America's foreign policy. He reached out to improve relations with Europe, China and Russia and to open dialogue with Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. He lobbied allies to support a global economic stimulus package. He committed an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan and set an August 2010 date for withdrawal of nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq. In more dramatic incidents, he ordered an attack on pirates off the coast of Somalia and prepared the nation for a swine flu outbreak. He signed an executive order banning excessive interrogation techniques and ordered the closing of the military detention facility at Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay within a year (a deadline that ultimately would not be met). For his efforts, the Nobel Committee in Norway awarded Obama the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.
The following section shows the national debt, unemployment rate, and approval rating of Barrack Obama during his presidency.
My second worst president is Barrack Obama. He was elected in 2008 and is still serving to this day (written: January 13th) and he served two terms. Between Inauguration Day and April 29, 2009, the Obama administration took action on many fronts. Obama coaxed Congress to expand health care insurance for children and provide legal protection for women seeking equal pay. A $787 billion stimulus bill was passed to promote short-term economic growth. Housing and credit markets were put on life support, with a market-based plan to buy U.S. banks' toxic assets. Loans were made to the auto industry, and new regulations were proposed for Wall Street. Obama also cut taxes for working families, small businesses and first-time home buyers. The president also loosened the ban on embryonic stem cell research and moved ahead with a $3.5 trillion budget plan. Over his first 100 days in office, President Obama also undertook a complete overhaul of America's foreign policy. He reached out to improve relations with Europe, China and Russia and to open dialogue with Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. He lobbied allies to support a global economic stimulus package. He committed an additional 21,000 troops to Afghanistan and set an August 2010 date for withdrawal of nearly all U.S. troops from Iraq. In more dramatic incidents, he ordered an attack on pirates off the coast of Somalia and prepared the nation for a swine flu outbreak. He signed an executive order banning excessive interrogation techniques and ordered the closing of the military detention facility at Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay within a year (a deadline that ultimately would not be met). For his efforts, the Nobel Committee in Norway awarded Obama the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.
The following section shows the national debt, unemployment rate, and approval rating of Barrack Obama during his presidency.
National DebtStart of Presidency (2008): $10.6 trillion End of Presidency (2016): $19.9 trillion and rising With the National debt of large concern recently and the debt ceiling debates continuing, many want to see the figures as to what President Barack Obama has done toward the US National Debt. Last year it was reported that Obama added more to National Debt in his first 19 months than all U.S. presidents through Ronald Reagan combined with an increase of $2.5260 trillion. That is more than the cumulative total of the national debt held by the public that was amassed by all U.S presidents from George Washington through Reagan. As of June, once the national debt passed $13 trillion mark the Obama administration had increased the debt by $3.398 trillion in just 710 days. The fiscally conservative community is calling for Obama's head as unemployment and inflation continue to hammer the current economy. But lest we not learn from our past presidents and see that debt is practically ingrained in our history. Many believe that Obama didn't contribute as much to the national debt as he received it from his predecessor, George Bush. However, most of the money Bush spent went to the war in the Middle East and most of Obama's spending went to pointless expenditures. Fun Fact: Obama has spent $44 million tax payers on personal vacations! Great way waste U.S. tax dollars. | Unemployment RateStart of Presidency (2008): 7.8% End of Presidency (Currently): 4.9% So, this might seen quite impressive, but it doesn't account for all the ups and down that occurred during the presidency. At one point, during Obama's 2nd year as president, the unemployment rate was at 10%, which is very high. It also doesn't account for the fact that many Americans have given up looking for jobs because practically all the jobs have been sent overseas. This decline in the unemployment rate is probably Obama's only real accomplishment when it comes to being the president for two whole terms. Graph displaying the progress of the unemployment rate under Obama | Approval RatingObama's overall approval rating was 55%. Segment from Huff-pollster: OBAMA APPROVAL DROPS - Earlier this week, Gallup reported that the weekly average of President Obama’s approval rating had dipped to 41 percent after months of stability in the mid-40s. Other national polls released over the past two weeks show a similar, consistent trend, with Obama’s disapproval rising by between 1.4 and 3 points in surveys by six separate polls. All, except for Rasmussen, now put his approval below 43 percent. Gallup’s Jeffrey M. Jones sees an explanation in the timing: “The long stretch of stability from mid-March to early June occurred during a period that was hardly uneventful for the president, including controversies over medical care for U.S. military veterans at Veterans Affairs hospitals and a prisoner exchange of five Taliban detainees for U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. But Iraq may be the issue weighing most heavily on Obama’s public support given the timing of the drop in approval.” Obama vs. Bush Approval RatingRed-Bush Orange-Obama |
The third worst president is Woodrow Wilson. Wilson (1856-1924), the 28th U.S. president, served in office from 1913 to 1921 and led America through World War I (1914-1918). An advocate for democracy and world peace, Wilson is often ranked by historians as one of the nation’s greatest presidents. Wilson was a college professor, university president and Democratic governor of New Jersey before winning the White House in 1912. Once in office, he pursued an ambitious agenda of progressive reform that included the establishment of the Federal Reserve and Federal Trade Commission. Wilson tried to keep the United States neutral during World War I but ultimately called on Congress to declare war on Germany in 1917. After the war, he helped negotiate a peace treaty that included a plan for the League of Nations. Although the Senate rejected U.S. membership in the League, Wilson received the Nobel Prize for his peacemaking efforts.
The following section shows the national debt, unemployment rate, and approval rating of Woodrow Wilson during his presidency.
The following section shows the national debt, unemployment rate, and approval rating of Woodrow Wilson during his presidency.
National DebtDue to the early years of Wilson's presidency, exact numbers are not given talking about Wilson's debt. However, after reading numerous articles, it was revealed that Wilson was in a constant state of around $32 billion dollars. This is understandable considering that Wilson was president during WWI, but what was there really to be spending all this money on? | Unemployment RateUnemployment became a major issue during the Great Depression when the rate skyrocketed to 25%, however during Wilson's presidency it was stated to be around 1.4%. We have to consider the time in which he was president. | Approval RatingWilson received a 2.5 out of 5 presidential ranking. The data site that I used for the past ranking started with FDR. However, this ranking clearly shows that Wilson was not a good president. |
Just to clarify: of course some of these selections had personal bias, as bias is unavoidable. However, by selecting three categories to compare the presidents helped to further prove my argument and take the focus away from bias.
~Caroline Miller
~Caroline Miller
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